Street Angels is an organization in Milwaukee that hands out tents and blankets to about 200 homeless people a night. | Wikimedia Commons
Street Angels is an organization in Milwaukee that hands out tents and blankets to about 200 homeless people a night. | Wikimedia Commons
Even as they profess to have the same vision, the Milwaukee Downtown Business Improvement District and the Street Angels nonprofit clearly have different views when it comes to combating the city’s problem of homelessness.
FOX6 Milwaukee reports that the two sides also disagree on where and how critical resources should be made use of, as city officials sort through the problem.
"These are the tents we hand out," Street Angels executive director Eva Welch told FOX6 Milwaukee, referring to the growing number of tents that can now be seen going up around MacArthur Square. "They’re very small, one-man, barely one-man tents. People still need to survive outdoors, and in Wisconsin, sometimes that means a tent and a blanket."
In all, group members say they help in roughly 200 people a night, passing out supplies such as tents and blankets from their travel bus at least three nights a week.
While recognizing that the Street Angels group is well-intended, downtown authorities argue there clearly have been negative consequences to how they are operating, namely preventing people from focusing on long-term solutions to their problem.
"Individuals that may say, ‘Sure, I’m interested in housing,’ and then the next day they say, ‘No, I have a tent now and my friends are bringing me food three times a week, so I’m good,’" Milwaukee Downtown Business Improvement District CEO Beth Weirick told FOX6 Milwaukee.
Weirick said their partners with the city's Housing First program are now drafting a letter urging community leaders to devote resources to shelters and housing instead of organizations like the Street Angels.
"If we’re going to spend money on resources, let’s spend money on the resources to really, truly end homelessness," Weirick said, according to FOX 6 Milwaukee.
Welch stressed that Street Angels also work to connect people with housing, but there simply isn’t enough to extend to everyone. Until more low-cost housing is made available, the group members plan to continue doing all they can to make sleeping outside as comfortable as possible.
"Tents don’t cause or enable homelessness," Welch told FOX6 Milwaukee. "What they do provide is a little bit of dignity, a little bit of protection and a little bit of warmth."
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